From its opening evocation of a tornado surging with unrequited desire to the closing 30-minute symphony of animals snuffling by a pond, this fifth album by Neko Case takes a cool look at modern relationships and ancient nature, and finds them equally mysterious and destructive. The two themes collide invigoratingly on People Got a Lotta Nerve, a fizzing powerpop song that uses a killer whale as a fun metaphor for a fiery, man-eating woman. Not all the 14 tracks are as addictive; some suffer from being a touch earnest. But Case's voice sounds even more huskily, verdantly rich than ever, the more so because she uses it so unsentimentally. "I'm an animal," she dispassionately tells one lover. "You're an animal, too."